This blog is not meant to be time-specific, but rather more general in nature. In light of recent events, however, I thought I’d write about operations in times of crisis.
If you’ve been in the business world for more than a year or two, you’ve experienced up cycles as well as down cycles. It’s just the nature of the beast. The automotive sector is no exception and we have seen some doozies in just the past 20 years. First it was the “dot com” crash of the stock market, soon to be followed by 9/11 and then of course the “Great Recession.” All of that was a precursor to record-breaking years as we recovered from those events. Business has been good and people are generally optimistic.
However, when we’re in a down market or some catastrophe occurs, how are you to keep things together? Are you leading or panicking as your employees head for the exits? Here are some things I think you could use to keep your wits about you and more importantly keep money flowing through the business.
- Check on your employees. You should be doing this on a daily basis anyway, but it’s even more important during extra-stressful times. How are they doing mentally? If they’re frazzled and worried about things on the home front, they’re not going to do you much good in the store. How can you think differently to assuage their fears and get them pointed in a positive direction? Remind them that no matter how dire the situation seems, this too will pass and we’ll be looking back on it years from now as a great learning opportunity. Be a voice of reason in the world instead of adding to the insanity you see on TV or social media.
- Dig deeper into your CRM. For the uninitiated, that’s the crazy piece of software your dealer principal pays big bucks for every month. Start by having the salespeople (and/or you as well) reach out to all your current customers and check to see how they’re doing. Not to sell them a car but instead to check on their well being. Sure, you’ll only talk to about 3 out of 10, but wouldn’t it be nice to let them know you care about them and not just how much money they can give you? Who knows, maybe they’ll turn it into a sales (or service) call. Activity is better than having people staring at their phones all day, right? An added bonus is that you and your people will be more skilled at using the CRM, and that’s never a bad thing.
- Work shifts and schedules. Could you move some people to different schedules to better accommodate them and the customers? Most homes don’t have a “stay at home” spouse any longer and if the day care center is closed, that causes a problem. Maybe you could split some shifts or even extend hours into the night to facilitate sales and service. If you do make changes, don’t forget to let your customers know! They might find themselves in different circumstances as well and appreciate your newfound flexibility.
- Changes to processes. Here’s another one that you should be doing on a regular basis, but if business is off a little bit you should take some time to really examine what is working or not working in your processes. What pain points could you eliminate for your customers? What prevents them from doing business with you or doing it more often? Put your customer hat on and think like they would. If you’re doing something that only benefits the business and not them, trust me when I say there is someone, somewhere working on a way to disrupt your model. And they will, given enough time.
- Don’t panic. Whatever you do, do not overreact to what is going on. Remember that eyes are always on you, no matter what is happening. If you panic, it gives everyone who works with you the permission to do the same. However, if you are cool, calm and collected they will at least sense that and be less likely to run for the hills.
- Be present and visible. No one wants a manager who hides in their office all day. Get out on the floor, in the shop, in the detail department, etc. and circulate. That doesn’t mean you spend all day there, but let people know you’re not unapproachable. And when you’re in your office, have a true open door policy. A leader needs to be there for their people. Being able to pop in and have a word with “The Boss” goes a long way toward improving and maintaining employee morale.
I don’t believe there’s one way for managing times of crisis. You sort of have to figure it out as you go along because no two are alike. If you keep your head down and follow these ideas, you will soon find the storm has subsided and calmer waters lie ahead.
What solutions have you found to manage times of crisis? I’d love to hear your feedback.
Make it a great day!
Dan
